I was cuddled up to Ava after we talked about who was handling Lily the next day. I was about to fall asleep when I heard little screams coming from Lily's room. I got up and ran with Ava right beside me, looking horrified. Ava was almost more worried than me.

"Daddy!" My little girl screamed, rushing out of her room and running into my legs, wrapping her arms around one of them.

Ava looked up and me and I looked at her with wide eyes. Lily had just called me Daddy. The warm feeling that spread through me when she said it was intense.

She called me Daddy.

She was my daughter.

I felt like crying. It was such a beautiful feeling.

Ava looked down at Lily and pointed to her. That's when I noticed what was really important, which was my weeping little girl.

"Hey, it's ok." I said, picking her up. "Daddy's right here."

"I'm scared." She sobbed her heart out.

"Sh... it's ok. There's no need to be afraid. I'm here to protect you." I said to her.

"I want to sleep in your bed with you." Lily sobbed, hanging onto me tightly.

I looked over at Ava who nodded her head, giving me consent to take Lily to our room and let her sleep in our bed with us.

"Alright. You can sleep with us in our bed." I said.

"She's gonna sleep with us in your bed?" Lily said.

"It's her bed too. If you wanna sleep next to me, she's going to be there too." I told Lily.

"Ok." Lily nodded, her hands tugging slightly on my hair from how tightly she was holding onto it.

Lily hiccupped through her little sobs and sniffles and she let me carry her to bed. Ava got in on her side and then I got in on the other. Ava and I turned away from each other and I placed Lily in front of me, playing with her hair.

"Did you have a bad dream?" I asked Lily.

"Yeah. The monsters were eating my books. They were scary." Lily said, making me smile.

"There are no book-eating monsters in this house. In fact, I made sure the whole house was completely monster free. The only monster left is this little monster. The strawberry monster!" I said, kissing her forehead and tickling her a little, making her giggle.

"Are you sure?" She asked me.

"Yup." I chuckled.

We were silent for a little while, and Ava's hand found mine.

"Is she sleeping?" Lily asked suddenly.

"It's not important, baby. Sleep." I said, kissing Lily's forehead again.

"How come you like her? I wish it was just me and you." Lily said.

Ava shifted, seeming to want to leave, but I wasn't about to let that happen.

"Don't say that, Lily. You're going to love her one day. She's the sweetest person ever. She's nice to everyone, she's funny and playful, she's a good person. She helps people and takes care of them. She's such a sweetheart and she's gonna be the best Mom ever." I said, rubbing my thumb up and down Ava's hand.

"Can't we just be me and you?" Lily asked.

"No, I love her and I never want her to go away. Why do you want her gone, Lily?" I asked.

"Because she doesn't like me yet, and I don't think she's ever gonna like me." Lily said.

"She does, she loves you." I insisted.

"No. She doesn't know me... she's not gonna like me." Lily told me, seeming very worried and insecure about it.

"She already loves you. Come on, baby. Don't be like this." I said.

"You think that she will be a mommy that will actually like me?" Lily asked.

"Yes, of course." I nodded.

"But won't she be mad because I wanna do stuff with you?" Lily asked.

"Of course not." I said.

"Are you sure, Daddy?" Lily asked.

"I'm sure. She's gonna be the best mommy ever." I said.

"Ok." Lily said, pushing me onto my back and then climbing onto my chest.

I kissed Ava's shoulder, rubbing her back and trying to make her feel better. She was shaking and I knew she was crying, but I didn't want Lily to know that. Ava was a lot more sensitive than she let on. I knew that she just wanted Lily to like her and she was wondering where she went wrong in making the little girl think that she didn't like her.

"I love you so much, Ava." I whispered, continuing to plant kissed on her shoulder.

"Love you." She said back to me, still shaking and clearly crying.

I knew it had to hurt to know that the girl you wanted so badly to help and be there for, wanted you out of the picture. But Lily wasn't in her right mind. I'd never seen her act this way before. She was being pretty cold towards Ava, but usually she would be a lot more subtle about it. She was just afraid of the new environment she was in.

The next morning, I woke up to the feeling of little feet kicking me.

I opened my eyes to find Lily trying to pry me and Ava apart.

"Hey, hey, hey... no, Lily." I said, wrapping my arm around her little waist and getting up, moving her away from Ava who was still asleep.

"Is it school time?" Lily asked me, seeming excited.

"Let's go get dressed for the day." I said to her. "There's no school for you today."

"Yes there is." Lily said, her eyes watering.

"No." I insisted, not wanting her to get overwhelmed. The child protection officers had already said she should be pulled out of school until next year and there were only three days left anyway.

"But, I wanna go to school." Lily sniffled.

"You can't, baby. You don't need to go to school and sit all by yourself. You're going to stay here, you have lots of books to read and lots of toys you can play with and you and Ava are going to go get some new clothes and stuff." I said.

"I don't want to... You can stay with me." Lily suggested.

"No. I have to go teach my class." I told her

"It's not fair, I don't like her. Why can't she go teach your class and you stay with me?" Lily asked.

"Because she's a doctor, not a teacher. Stop being mean to the woman that I love, Lily." I said.

"Daddy." Lily said, her eyes filling with tears and a few tears spilling over.

"Yeah, baby?" I asked, picking her up and letting her hug me.

"How come you like her more than me?" Lily asked.

"Lily. That's not how it works. I love Ava, but I love you too, you little bookworm." I laughed, tickling her a little.

She giggled and struggled.

"You and Ava are going to have a lot of fun." I said.

"No." Lily shook her head.

"Yes. Because I love you and she loves you too. Sometimes I'll have to go to work and you need to stay with Ava and sometimes Ava will have work and you'll have to stay with me." I said.

"Ok, today she can go to work and you'll stay." Lily said.

"No. Because today, I have work and she doesn't." I explained.

"So I have to stay here?" Lily asked.

"Yes." I told her.

"Can we go outside too?" Lily asked me.

"Yes." I nodded. "You two can do whatever you want to do."

"Can she read?" Lily asked me.

"Yup. She's a better reader than me... she can read you some stories if you want." I smiled.

"Can I stay with you in the morning though?" Lily asked me.

"Yeah, until I go to work, you can be with me." I smiled, kissing her little cheek.

"I love you." She said, warming my heart.

"My baby." I smiled, spinning her around. "I love you so, so, so, so, so, so, much!"

She giggled and let me set her down while I picked out a little outfit for her. I picked out a long sleeve shirt, a pair of jeans and some underwear for my daughter and I handed them to her.

"Can my big girl go change in the bathroom so Daddy can go get changed as well?" I asked.

She smiled and nodded, hugging me tightly and taking a moment before she let me go and ran to the bathroom.

I went back to find Ava shifting in the bed.

"G-gabe?" She said, sounding sleepy.

"Good morning, baby." I smiled, walking over and pulling her into my lap.

"Did Lily wake up?" Ava asked me.

"Yeah, she did. She's changing her clothes." I said softly.

"I'm spending the day with her, right?" Ava asked, sounding excited.

"Yeah, do you promise you won't let it get to you if she's a little cold?" I asked.

"I'll try." She giggled, wrapping her arms around me and kissing me deeply.

That's when Lily walked into the room.

"Hey, Sweetheart." Ava smiled, getting off my lap and pulling the blankets around her shoulders to keep warm.

"Hi." Lily said. "Daddy, you didn't get ready."

"I'm going, I'm going." I smiled and got up, leaving Ava and Lily alone there to talk.

"What do you want to do today?" Ava asked.

I didn't hear a response, but I heard Ava invite Lily to come join her on the bed.

"Are you lazy today?" Lily asked Ava and I heard Ava laugh.

"I'm just a little tired, baby." Ava said.

"Do you love Daddy?" Lily asked, seeming a lot more comfortable with Ava than she was before.

"I do, with all my heart, and I love you too." Ava told her.

"How come?" Lily asked.

"Because your Daddy makes me so, so, so happy. And so do you. You're my cute little girl, I think you're smart and you're funny, and we can always have fun together. I wanna take care of you and I want you to know that you can always come talk to me about anything." Ava said softly.

"So, I have to stay with you, I can't go to school with Daddy?" Lily asked.

"Yeah, but we're gonna have so much fun, I promise." Ava said softly.

I quickly jumped into my fresh clothes, taking note of the fact that I desperately needed a shower and brushing that thought aside. I put on some deodorant and went to the bathroom. I brushed my teeth, put some clothes on and then went out to see my girls.

"Daddy!" Lily squealed, running over to me and jumping into my arms.

I smiled and held her close to my chest as we went down to the kitchen. Ava was holding one of my hands and following me down to the kitchen. I set Lily down and got to work on making my girls some good breakfast. It was still really early in the morning and I felt bad that Ava had to wake up early even though she had the day off. But that's a sacrifice that she seemed more than willing to make.

I made them some blueberry pancakes and drizzled some maple syrup over them. I added some fruits on the side and made sure to give Lily extra strawberries. Even then, Lily stole the strawberries on my plate and then eyed the ones on Ava's plate. Ava smiled and she handed Lily one of her strawberries.

Breakfast wasn't bad. There was no tension in the air and I felt like I could definitely leave Lily and Ava alone without problems. I knew it might take a toll on Ava, but I knew how to handle that, and I'd make sure Ava was alright when I got home.

I left my girls sitting at the dining table. Lily was so into the strawberries that she climbed into Ava's lap to steal the rest of them. The smile that spread across Ava's face was adorable. She was so happy to have Lily in her lap eating her food.

"Bye, girls. Have fun." I said, kissing Lily on the head and then leaning down to connect my lips with Ava's.

I left the girls there at the table, eating their breakfast and off I was to work. It felt different leaving Ava and my kid at home. I'd miss them, but the feeling of pride that I had when I thought about my little family was on another level. I was a man almost bursting with love for his tiny family.